Recovering from csection & severe SPD. Norland Nanny useful to help me?

[Katiejon]

DS born by planned csection 30 October 2013.
DD is 5 and a half.
Bottle feeding and doing night shift feeding: 4 times between 10 pm and 7 am.
Massively sleep deprived - only sleeping 2 hours at a time.
Not resting enough to stop being in pain.
Taking diclofenac.
Nearly constantly dizzy.
DH working Saturday week.
Extended paternity leave till 27 November.
Is working 3 Saturday's between now and Xmas.
Norland newborn nanny any good to help me?
(Sorry for typing in bullet points, using ipad-type thing.)
Sleep deprivation with DD led to me having daymares.
Being monitored by hospital psychiatrist.

What area are you in?

Can your mum help at all?

Have you rang local agencies to see if have any temp nannies

Does your dh company use emergency childcare - via my family care/TINIES - the company pay for a few days help each year

London NW4.
Mum here every afternoon, 2.30 till 7.
Only considering Norland as they train to a high standard.

I feel very sorry for you but I think you're also finding unnecessary obstacles - being tired doesn't help it makes things look harder than they actually are. It's frankly daft only to consider a Norland, there are MANY nannies out there with experience (which is what you need, not training) who'd be far cheaper and have more availability, so you could use them far more. Show the AP how to put a bottle together and she can wake you if any problems.

I'd say Chiltern is just as high and that practically doubles your pool of candidates, if you didn't know about them before?

Hi margaret.
I need experience of course, but also training in hygiene, first aid cert and cooking for 5 year old.
Agree with you about tiredness.
Showing aupair how to do bottles, she has never handled them before.
Took her cos she is willing to stay over Xmas.

Never heard of Chiltern, will google. Thanks.

Au pair learning baby care from scratch.

Not to be harsh but just because they are Norland or Chiltern trained does not mean they will be right for your family. I'd also call Nest and see if they have any trainees available.

Many nannies could do all that, not just Norland - I've had several nannies over the years who could easily manage all that, none found through agencies, just women who'd built up experience over years - many starting off like your AP. Totally understand you need to tick all boxes but there is a wider pool out there, just tell agencies these are all musts for you and in the meantime train up the AP. All mums learn from scratch at the start and we mostly do OK

Almost all nannies will have first aid, NEST and MNT cover baby hygiene and plenty of nannies have done food hygiene as part of their training. It was entirely standard until a few years ago. Care of a 5 year old is also basic stuff for anyone with a level 3 qualification.

Send your person spec to an agency and see who they have that fits your profile.

Just looking on nannyjob I've found:

a trainee children's nurse www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/33086
an Aussie with qualifications as long as your arm www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/21890
25 years experience, 1st aid, baby care course www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/17178
'courses and qualifications' www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/14381
17 ytears exp and MNT www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/25999
BTEC, MNT, first aid www.nannyjob.co.uk/cv/12205

Haven't read whole thread but YES GET SOME HELP!!!

Doesn't need to be Norland. I had a maternity nurse through Eden/the maternity nurse company (can't remember which). She was a life saver (C section and twins and stroppy teen and DP working 400 miles away).

PM me if you want as I have my lady's phone number and she's in London.

Big thanks.
Too tired to recruit myself.
Ap no idea how to change nappy, can't train her up as too tired.
Lots of pain from SPD.
Thanks nom, very kind of u to search for me.
Will try Chiltern and Eden, who can filter a bit more.
All I want to do is sleep, not spend time searching for help.

How do I pm j, stinking?

At the right hand end of the blue bar above my post it should say 'message poster'. Click on that! I'll send you one anyway in the meantime!

I know you don't have the time or energy but it's just an example of qualified candidates (who probably are registered with agencies too) that aren't necessarily Norland trained. The more you put arbitrary limits on candidates the longer it will be before you can have sleep :)

If even two of those profiles appealed there are probably 10 more like them that an agency could call on a moment's notice. You'll still need to call references yourself but that takes less than an hour.

When I worked for an agency if you'd called me Wednesday morning sounding as desperate as you did on Tuesday I'd have spent half an hour or so getting to the bottom of what you really wanted, searched the database for candidates, called them to check their availability and whether they'd be interested, sent you the profiles of the ones who were and had someone with you Thursday latest. Of course if you'd stuck to wanting a Norlander then it would have been fairly unlikely that the particular agency I worked for could have helped but I'd still have done my best!

You need to move quickly now to get someone before the weekend as agencies often close Sat and Sun.

Next sat not tomorrow.
pm not able to click.
Will try to sleep now.

Trying to think round it here.

So DD is out at school weekdays, au pair is around to look after DD after school, and mum can do baby for afternoons (12.30 - 7pm)? Which should mean you only have baby on your own in the mornings? Can you rest all afternoon (and get mum to bring you lunch/drinks in bed )?

Can DH get back to put them to bed in an evening i.e. cross over with mum and also shove in a ready meal and bring to you in bed?

Can mum help on the 3 x Saturdays DH is working?

Presumably you and DH can alernate nights, or can do at least some, so you get some nights off as well, which should be better if you get loads of daytime rest.

I'm not sure where nanny fits in - just the Saturdays (on the assumption that mum can't help)? If so, and its only three days when you're around as well anyway, then anyone decent should do rather than needing to be Norland etc?

Thank u 3 for being logical.
I am overwhelmed by the advice u have all offered, so kind.
I have broken nites and not able to sleep in am till mum comes around 1 to 2.30, cos not tired enough to sleep.
DD back at 4.15.
Will sleep with the aid of Piriton!
And then think logically.

agree you are chopping your nose off to spite your face in regards to who you have to help, if you only stick to norland

any good agency will hopefully have at least 5 good nannies all with new born baby exp, prob a lot more tbh

this has been going on for 3 days, as nom said, and if you rang a local agency then sure you would have had someone by now

the job im in at the moment, i saw mum on sat late eve and started sun eve - she saw 3, so not the fact she had to chose me as no one esle iyswim - but she knows im pre booked mid dec so can only have me till then, but as i said ive already got bubs in a fab routine

please call an agency :)

Slept with aid of sleeping tablet.
Think I have someone for Saturday's.
Not so DH wants to leave baby in carecof aupair with 1 week baby experience - she changed her first nappy today.
On the way to getting practical help, problem is DH attitude, thinks I can survive on 2 hours sleep here and there.
I hallucinated with dd cos of lack of sleep.
Told him I will walk out and leave him to cope on his own, like he expects me to do, if I dont sleep more.
Also highly distressed by his attitude.

Not feeling sorry 4 myself and trying 2 find obstsacle.
Am trying to get good help but dh doesn't want to spend money to help me.

Not a nanny ptoblem, a husbsnd problrm!

But apart from those Saturdays you wouldn't need help if he actually helped you! His attitude is scuppering you on both fronts, he needs to either help full time until he goes back to work (barring the Saturdays) or he needs to agree that you can hire someone.

I haven't had SPD or a c section but surely an au pair and an adult are completely capable of looking after an NT 5 year old and a newborn?

So it's only morning you really need help for and odd night if dh won't help

If dh won't pay for some help Can you not manage that and if had a bad night then sleep when bubs sleep in the morning

Dd at school and ap looking after her otherwise

Your mum is there in the afternoon

You are actually quite lucky compared to some who have no one and you have 2 adults and 3 if dh pulled his finger from his arse

Haven't read whole string so apologies if repeating. But you need a maternity nurse! They specialise in new borns and help mothers as much as baby.
Good luck.